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Oklahoma ranks 18th worst for DUIs

A new report released in March shows Oklahoma is ranked No. 18 for drunk driving in the nation.

Wyoming ranked as No. 1 worst for driving under the influence while New York ranked last, No. 50, for DUI problems.

BackgroundsChecks.org researched state DUI rankings by data from the CDC, Department of Transportation and local data. DUI cases were on the rise in 2016, the organization said, according to data from the CDC and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

For 2015, statistics from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation showed 209 alcohol-related arrests in LeFlore County. The data is not designated by DUI cases, but all alcohol-related arrests.

"The fact that over 10,000 people a year die from DUI related accidents is a travesty," said Trent Wilson, co-author of the research.

"We hope this research will open some eyes and make people think twice before drinking and driving."

The report showed Oklahoma had 170 fatalities and 0.27 percent rate of all traffic deaths. It added that Oklahoma saw a 9 percent increase with a 4.33 DUI death rate per 100,000, 11,101 DUI arrests and 283 DUI arrest rate per 100,000.

The top 10 states worst for DUIs included yoming,North Dakota,South Dakota,Montana, South Carolina, Mississippi,New Mexico, Kentucky and Maine. Those with the least DUIs included New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey, Utah, Rhode Island, Virginia, Indiana, Washington and Kansas.

BackgroundChecks.org is an organization devoted to public safety, online privacy, home security and open government. The organization said its technology tools and resources are used by hundreds of thousands of users each to month. As part of their commitment to public safety, they constantly conduct new research to shed insight on issues that affect the public welfare.